Miscellaneous
In our first two segments, Attorney Mike Kelly, a former family court judge for Kanawha County for 15 years who has now returned to private practice, stops by to discuss his new book “Marrow Bone,” which delves into the politics of the Mountain State.Kelly says he wrote the book because since he first began practicing law in Mingo County, he has been fascinated by West Virginia politics and how unique and personal the state’s politics are in comparison to other counties. In the book, he uses a blend of both fact and fiction to create a narrative describing how the state’s politics work.The attorney says the plot of the book follows two fictional wealthy, politically connected families in West Virginia who he says are basically the “power brokers,” or the people behind the politicians and candidates, of the state’s politics.Kelly says while many of the characters and specific situations are fictional, they are based on real people and events that tie into the state’s politics, such as murder cases creating more discussion and advocacy to prevent domestic violence.In Segment 3, WOWK 13 News Anchor Lily Bradley joins our host and Chief Political Reporter Mark Curtis and guest Attorney and former family court judge Mike Kelly in the discussion of the reality of West Virginia’s politics through his new book “Marrow Bone.” While the book follows fictitious scenarios, many of the issues behind those scenarios are reality.One of these follows a story of a murdered social worker who had advocated for change to stop domestic violence. Kelly says domestic violence is a “scourge” in the Mountain State, affecting people across all income classes in every county. Bradley has worked with the YWCA’s Girls’ Night Out, an outreach through the YWCA Resolve Family Abuse Program that WOWK 13 News helps sponsor, adds that domestic abuse does not discriminate.Kelly says having courts that take a specific focus on issues involving domestic situations and/or drug abuse helps to protect victims of domestic violence from their abusers before the danger of their situation escalates and/or helps drug users break their addictions.“All we see usually in domestic violence cases is the worst ones – when there’s a shooting… What goes under the radar is what happens every day, the activities that lead up to that shooting,” Kelly said.Those seeking help can contact the following organizations:The Drug Helpline: https://drughelpline.org/ or 1-844-289-0879Help4WV: https://www.help4wv.com/Charleston area Emergency Shelter & 24-Hour Crisis Line: 1-800-681-8663Charleston area Emergency Shelter & 24-Hour Crisis Line: 304-340-354The National Domestic Violence Hotline: https://www.thehotline.org/